Ex-student sues counselor after trying to kill himself

LEXINGTON (AP) A university and its counselor are being sued for $12 million each by a former student who says they didn’t do enough to stop his suicide attempts.

A lawsuit filed Jan. 8 by Kionte Burnette accuses Washington & Lee University and school counselor Rallie Snowden of negligence, The Roanoke Times reported.

The suit alleged that after Burnette told Snowden he planned to jump off a bridge, the counselor told him to attend his classes and football practice and then spend the night at the campus health center.

Snowden followed up several times that day by text and phone, making Burnette promise not to hurt himself, but Burnette did so anyway, trying twice to take his life.

The lawsuit says he should have been escorted to an emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation.